Tag Archives: PAL

[Statement] Press Release: PALEA asks Tourism Congress to probe safety issues at PAL

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Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (PALEA) called on the delegates to probe issues of passenger safety at Philippine Airlines (PAL). Photo from airplane-pictures.net

As the two-day Tourism Congress opens in Saranggani province today, the Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (PALEA) called on the delegates to probe issues of passenger safety at Philippine Airlines (PAL). “We ask the Tourism Congress to take up the cudgels for the riding public by inquiring about safety and service concerns at PAL given that overworked and untrained replacement workers are now servicing passengers. If the Tourism Congress is anxious about the impact of the labor dispute on the influx of tourists, then it should also be worried about any possible accidents due to unsafe work practices by contractual workers,” stated Gerry Rivera, PALEA president and vice chair of Partido ng Manggagawa.

Meanwhile PALEA welcomed the call by members of the Labor Group of the Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (TIPC) for government to push for a settlement of the labor row. “A reasonable compromise to the dispute is for both parties, PAL and PALEA, to extend judicial courtesy and wait for the final decision of the courts on the legality of the outsourcing plan. In the meantime, the lockout employees must be allowed to return to their regular jobs in order to normalize flights and operations,” Rivera expounded.

PALEA’s call on the Tourism Congress came in the wake of news reports that yesterday two Danish tourists, Rasmus Georgsen Jakobsen and Kristine Jonassen, backed out of proceeding with a PAL flight to Cebu over safety concerns. According to reports, the tourists questioned PAL’s replacement workers at the check-in counter including a supervisor about safety issues but were left unsatisfied with the answers.

 

Read full statement at http://laborpartyphilippines.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=447&Itemid=1

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[In the Web] PALEA sues police for ‘intrusion’

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PALEA asks for the support of our fellow Filipinos, and our brothers and sisters in the labor movement. Photo from partidongmanggagawa2011.blogspot.com

 

Two members of the labor union picketing against Philippine Airlines (PAL) filed complaints on Friday against four members of Southern Police District (SPD) for alleged ‘intrusion’ after the policemen entered the PAL In-Flight Center at the MIA Road last Wednesday.

Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA) board members Jake Garcia and George Dela Rosa, filed their complaints at the SPD headquarters Friday morning against a certain P/Insp. Neil Deveraturda and several other policemen.

Last Oct. 5, PALEA confronted the policemen who were aboard a vehicle with SPD markings because of the “suspicious nature” of entry. After finding out that the policemen were detailed to Taguig, PALEA officers Garcia and Dela Rosa further asked the lawmen why they had not coordinated with the Pasay police and the Inter Agency Monitoring Center which has territorial jurisdiction over the area. But the lawmen were unable to answer PALEA’s questions.

“Unfortunately for PAL, PALEA’s peaceful protest is allowed by the Labor Code. The police should learn from the mistake of their commander-in-chief PNoy who has remained deafeningly silent after his shoot-from-hip threat of filing an economic sabotage case against PALEA,” said PALEA president Gerry Rivera.

PALEA reacts to Tourism Congress statement

PALEA also called on the Tourism Congress to exert its moral influence on PAL to open talks to resolve the ongoing labor dispute. The Tourism Congress
had expressed concern that the labor row is negatively affecting the influx of tourists.

When the Tourism Congress told PALEA to heed the Labor Department and Office of the President, Rivera retorted: “The Tourism Congress is barking up the wrong tree. It is PAL which is not respecting the judicial process by prematurely implementing the outsourcing plan when there is no final decision by the courts.”

 

Read full story at http://www.gmanews.tv/story/234659/nation/palea-sues-police-for-intrusion

 

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[In the Web] ‘Occupy Wall Street’ protests inspire PALEA

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Ground crew workers of Philippine Airlines shout slogans during a rally on the last day of their work on Sept. 30, 2011 in suburban Paranaque, south of Manila, Philippines. Some 2,600 airline workers are expected to loose their job affected by outsourcing plan by PAL management.

 

MANILA, Philippines — Members of the Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA) picketing outside the gates of the Philippine Airlines’ (PAL) In-Flight Center (IFC) are being inspired in their struggle by the spreading Occupy Wall Street protests in the United States as well as the ongoing general strike in Greece.

“Our members are emboldened as they can easily identify themselves with the Wall St. protesters because of the similarities of our issues. Corporate greed and a failed economic model were moving people across the US into taking different forms of direct action,” said PALEA president Gerry Rivera in a statement.

The leaderless Wall St. protests have already spread across the United States and the number of people taking part keeps on growing despite attempts by the police to disperse the crowd. Dozens of trade union groups, including the Transport Workers Union (TWU), have also joined the protest.

“We Filipinos can also make our voices heard by doing similar actions against corporate greed and government neglect,” said Rivera.

Rivera, who is also the vice president of Partido ng Manggagawa (PM), said defenders of the outsourcing or contractualization scheme should see how this economic model failed the Americans, the Greeks, the Spanish, the Irish, and more and more people around the world.

Read full story at http://www.interaksyon.com/article/14604/occupy-wall-street-protests-inspire-palea

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[In the Web] Philippine Airlines: a frontline in the battle against outsourcing

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Gerry Rivera, PALEA president and vice chair of Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) leads the PALEA strike that paralyzes PAL operation. Photo form hronlineph.wordpress.com

Workers at Philippine Airlines have taken dramatic action in their battle against contracting out. On 27 September, Philippine Airlines (PAL) were forced to cancel all flights after thousands of workers struck and occupied their workplaces in protest at their imminent sacking and the outsourcing of their jobs.

Like Qantas, management at Philippine Airlines has for years been pushing an agenda of outsourcing. A month ago, some 2600 workers at Philippine Airlines were issued termination notices, effective 30 September. These workers were told they would have to reapply for their jobs with new companies set up to handle airport services (including check-in, refuelling and baggage handling), catering, and call centre functions.

All of these workers would lose the protection of their union, the Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA). And all of these workers would suffer a dramatic fall in pay and conditions, as PALEA President Gerry Rivera explains: “A senior PAL reservation agent with five years of work experience receives PhP22,400 [A$560] in salaries and allowances but is being offered by service provider SPI Global a wage of only PhP10,000 [A$250] per month. This is not even the minimum salary and clearly a starvation wage for a family breadwinner.”

Ahead of the lockout, PAL tried to use scabs to take over workers’ jobs. On 27 September, PALEA members responded by turning up to work but refusing to leave. After many hours, police and airport security cleared terminal and cargo areas. But many hundreds of workers are still protesting every day at Manila Airport, while Philippine Airlines remains severely disrupted.

Companies including Japan Airlines, Qantas, and Philippine Airlines are using outsourcing to boost profits at workers’ expense. If one group of workers is successful in resisting this, it will be a powerful blow against outsourcing, and send a message to all workers that contracting out can be defeated. For this reason, it is important that Philippine Airlines workers get as much support as possible from workers around the world.

Read full story at http://sa.org.au/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=7078:philippine-airlines-a-frontline-in-the-battle-against-outsourcing&Itemid=389
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[Reflection] The right to strike

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The PALEA members conduct a “sit-down protest” affecting almost all of the flights of the Philippine Airlines (PAL) and 14,000 passengers. Photo from dzrhnewspublic.blogspot.com

Last Sept. 27, the load controllers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2 walked out of their posts and airport personnel at the check-in counters vacated their work stations.

The Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA) in their official statement announced that they were holding a peaceful sit-down protest to decry the PAL management’s plan to outsource and imminently displacement more than 2,500 regular PAL workers.

This compelled the Philippine Airlines (PAL) management to suspend all airport operations and cancel 172 inbound and outbound flights. Report said that at least 14,000 passengers were stranded in the airport while typhoon Pedring hit Manila heavily.

While the PALEA strike has drawn mixed reactions from the public, but what is really worrisome is the reaction of President Benigno Aquino III by calling it an economic sabotage. Although, PNoy seemed to backtrack when the Department of Labor and Employment upheld the action as legal, but his initial reaction has in effect pronounced the government’s anti-labor position.

It conveyed a ricocheting statement that strikes and other concerted labor activities aimed at airing legitimate workers’ demands and grievances are now regarded as economic terrorism and therefore should be met with violent force and repression.

While the PALEA strike might have caused an economic disturbance particularly in the general operation of the air transport industry but it does not reduce the fact that they have legitimate reason to do so.

Although labor outsourcing is nothing new, it is in fact allowed by labor law.  It is usually justified in the face of impending crisis. Most business establishments may find it logical and necessary to adopt this flexibility measure to cope with the fluctuations in the demand for their products and to reduce their production cost by maintaining lean regular work force.

But the question that should therefore be addressed is how to strike a balance between maintaining the companies’ profit and protection of employees. Business survival will be meaningless if the end result will be more unemployment.

This is what Pnoy should first think about before talking.

His responsibility is above all for the interest of the people including the poor workers and not for one company alone much less for the interest of a very rich businessman like Lucio Tan.

With more than10 million Filipino workers unemployed and underemployed and the threat of the continuing displacement and the gradual return of OFWs due to the economic recession in theUnited Statesand other parts of the world and political instability in the Middle East, can this country afford to leave more workers out of jobs?

The right to strike is a basic labor right that should be exercise whenever the security and dignity of workers are threatened.

But most importantly, it is also our right to hold any government responsible not only for allowing such right to be violated but more so for serving the interest of the few. If this is what PNoy meant of “matuwid na daan” then let’s all make this road rough and wry for his administration by not only supporting the PALEA strike but by raising this action to a political cause.

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[Video] PALEA statement on protest action

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“PALEA has decided to act now instead of waiting for the onslaught of the outsourcing typhoon on Friday. This is the mother of all protests against layoff and contractualization.  Nobody will go home and we will not back down until our demand for job security is met,” announced Gerry Rivera, PALEA president and vice chair of Partido ng Manggagawa (PM).

“We call on PAL to begin talks for a settlement to the labor dispute. PALEA demands a stop to the outsourcing plan. We call for the opening of negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA). In the CBA negotiations, we can discuss measures to make PAL viable except outsourcing,” Rivera stated.

PALEA meanwhile asked for the understanding of the public. “Any inconvenience brought about by the protest is temporary. Ultimately the safe and efficient operation of PAL is guaranteed if employees are regular not contractual. It is up to PAL to settle the dispute and prevent further difficulties to passengers and clients of the flag carrier,”Rivera insisted.
He explained that “PAL is determined and desperate in implementing the lockout of employees. Starting last week, even before the effectivity date of the termination on Friday, PAL has been employing scabs and displacing regular employees. PAL has pushed us to the wall. We are left with no choice but to hold this protest action.”
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[In the Web] Various reactions on the PALEA strike

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Philippine Airline security personnel and members of PNP Aviation Security Group pull members of labor union PALEA out of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 in Pasay City. RODEL ROTONI/ INQUIRER

Posted by Paul Farol
It’s been five days since the Philippine Airlines Employees Association engaged in work-stoppage which the Philippine Airlines Management claims led to the 11-hour suspension of airport operations and the cancellation of almost 100 flights arriving and departing from PAL’s hub at NAIA Terminal 2. Further statements from the airline company say that almost 14,000 passengers were affected by the ill timed and illegal protest action that happened at the height of Typhoon Pedring.
The rest of PinoyTwitterdom registered mixed reactions with the more prominent ones noting the wrong timing of the PAL strike:

@grettelism di ba you used to work for @flyPAL? You think they’ll be able to see eye to eye with #PALEA?

@ZiaAlontoAdiong @khairyalonto @PrincessTarhata it really is unfair. Dapat may job security din sila. #PALEA

@elvinching12  Palea lost public respect!

@iloveruffag This is the truth, and PAL management paid the media to make PALEA look bad.

@rosymina Thought the PALEA strike was so untimely. But my bro said the strikers had good timing–they didn’t disrupt the flight scheds, Pedring did.

@Olidex  @lesterhallig curious, do you agree with what the palea employees did?

@Bai_Ashrafia  @khairyalonto @ZiaAlontoAdiong I think #PALEA asked the CA to invalidate PAL’s outsourcing plan. I just don’t know how it was resolved.

@khairyalonto @ZiaAlontoAdiong yes, #PALEA is striking because@flyPAL is going to outsource.

@dakila_ph  When your job is being taken from you, you have no choice but to fight for your family’s future. #PALEA

@PrincessTarhata @ZiaAlontoAdiong #PALEA is on a strike because the employees are against the outsourcing plan of @flyPAL

@darwinrona  Now I know #PALEA’s issue. It’s sad many of them worked 4 PAL for like 20 years so a “contractualization” deal is really unfair to them.

@LovingGreyson Lucio Tan, if you’re the one who said to lay off PALEA members, I will loathe you forever and hope you die a slow and painful death.

@chabdru I feel for PALEA employees. It just seems so unfair to them.

Read full story at http://pinoybiz.blogspot.com/2011/09/various-reactions-on-palea-strike.html

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